Now That’s a Bargain

Editorial Staff23 Nov 2017 20 Mar 20180 comments

Ranking the Best NBA Contracts Per Position this Season

Handing out NBA contracts is an inexact science and it isn’t the easiest activity in the world.

It requires scouting, gut instinct, and really, partial ability to see the future. When a general manager is handing an NBA player a contract, that GM is entrusting the player with helping his team get to the next level. Whether or not that player can do what is expected of him is to be determined. With each contact there are expectations and sometimes the best contracts are those handed to players who exceed what is expected of them.

These are the guys who make GMs look like geniuses and they themselves are what are known as bargain deals. So without further adieu, let’s rank the best contracts this season at each position!

Point Guard: Kemba Walker ($12-million)

Yes, Kemba Walker is being grossly underpaid in today’s NBA. The All-Star point guard surely cannot wait to hit the free agent market when he will finally get what he deserves financially. The Charlotte Hornets star is having yet another exceptional season in which he is averaging 22.9-points and 6.3-assists per game.

The worst part is, Walker is not a free agent for two more seasons!

Shooting Guard: Tyreke Evans ($3,290,000)

Remember the former NBA Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans? The guy who has been unable to stay healthy over the past two-to-three seasons?

Well he is back, healthy, and is playing better than ever as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies. More importantly, he is playing better than ever for dirt cheap. In 16-games off the bench, Evans is averaging 17.9-points, five rebounds and 3.4-assists per game, while 50% from three-point range and 41.2% from beyond the arc.

How’s that for a feel good story?

Small Forward: Trevor Ariza ($7,420, 912)

How valuable are three-and-D players on the market nowadays? Pretty valuable I’d say.

Trevor Ariza personifies the prototypical three-and-D player and has found himself a niche in the Houston Rockets system for nearly nothing. $7.5-million for a dude who averages double-digit points, can shoot the three and defend?

Now that’s a bargain.

Power Forward: Aaron Gordon ($5,504,420)

You want to talk bargains?

Aaron Gordon is getting just over five-million dollars a year while averaging 17.5-points and 8.1-boards per game. Steadily improving each season, Gordon is really starting to enter his own as a member of the Orlando Magic and with free agency right around the corner, he picked the perfect time to have a breakout season.

Center: Ekpe Udoh ($3.2-million)

In case you didn’t notice, Ekpe Udoh made his grand return to the NBA this past season and has immediately gotten back to doing what he usually does exceptionally well – defend.

Despite not averaging the sexiest numbers, Udoh is blocking 1.6-shots per game and 11th by ESPN.com in defensive plus/minus and number 4 by NBA Math’s defensive points saved. Most importantly, Udoh makes the Jazz a better defensive unit each time he is on the floor. When he is off the bench, the Jazz allow only 96.4-points per 100-possessions.